


A Brief Paws in the Villainous Life of Darth Vader

by DejaKnowIBeenLookinForVu



Series: A Brief Paws [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Be Careful What You Wish For, Father's Day, Father-Son Relationship, Humor, Luke/Vader Writers Challenge fic, Tatooine, crackfic, dog!Vader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:27:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24517669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DejaKnowIBeenLookinForVu/pseuds/DejaKnowIBeenLookinForVu
Summary: Though it was not completed in time to be submitted, I started this some years back to meet a Father's Day challenge on the Luke/Vader Writers list. The challenge's requirements were for it to contain a celebration of a Father's Day sort of holiday, Luke and Vader, something squishy, and the sentence "I swear I will not kill anyone."
Relationships: Luke Skywalker & Darth Vader
Series: A Brief Paws [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1770133
Comments: 12
Kudos: 57





	A Brief Paws in the Villainous Life of Darth Vader

Darth Vader was feeling irritable.

It was Father's Day (well, it was officially called "Male Guardian Day"), and the _Executor_ was running on a skeleton crew. Vader could not shake the feeling that his ship was highly vulnerable to an attack from the Rebel Alliance, though he supposed those pathetic fools were probably celebrating even more raucously than the absent members of the _Executor_ 's crew.

As he sat in his meditation chamber, he had to concede to himself that he was maybe, just possibly, a little envious of them. After all, _they_ had families whom they could see on occasion. _They_ had picture-perfect lives with no serious quarrels between . . . oh, say, father and son.

Unlike Vader himself.

He suddenly felt a deep need to sigh, followed by the urge to wipe all such emotions from his mind.

Ever since the visit from that wretched cat a few days ago, emotions characteristic of that weak man he once was kept rearing back up. Though he tried to push back all such thoughts from his mind, he could not help but wish that he could see his son, unrestricted by the man that he was supposed to be.

Colors passed before his eyes in a rapid stream, as if he were abruptly moving through time and space, and then, somehow, he himself standing on a planet he had hoped to never see again.

* * *

Luke was still fine-tuning his plans for rescuing Han as he sat in Obi-Wan Kenobi's former home. He had since dismissed all memory of meeting Vader while in cat form as an odd daydream, although the feeling that good was buried inside his father’s heart still remained. Still, the very notion itself seemed almost incomprehensible.

Luke sighed, looking down at his right hand. Most people _received_ gifts from their fathers. But Luke Skywalker? All his father had done for him was dismember his right hand.

Other creatures would be celebrating the lives of their fathers today; he would be cursing that of his.

_Well, not quite cursing,_ Luke had to concede. But he certainly was not celebrating the life of someone who was known to many as one of the evilest men in the galaxy.

As he tried to push all such negative thoughts out of his mind, a strange feeling tugged at him. Taking in a deep breath, wondering if it were perhaps a prodding from the Force, Luke decided to step outside and take a walk. Perhaps he could visit Mos Eisley again, even if he had no desire to take part in the celebrations that would be occurring there.

He was nearly at his destination when a strange sight made him stop short.

* * *

Staring disbelievingly at the sand, Vader suddenly realized he could breathe on his own again—without the assistance of his respirator. He took in several joyous lungfuls of air, and then he noticed something was not quite right.

For one thing, it felt uncharacteristically hot, even for Tatooine. Then, as he moved about, he realized that none of his limbs were prosthetic. Puzzled, he moved his eyes downward.

He almost did not notice that anything was amiss at first; after all, everything was black, as it should be.

Seconds later, he realized that not only was he completely black, but he was also . . . _furry_.

His mouth gaped open, and he wiggled his webbed toes in disbelief.

That was all he had: toes.

He had no fingers. He could not grip anything. He could not make a fist.

His tail began to droop in confusion, but when Vader noticed the action, he immediately went into an angry frenzy, chasing the furry black appendage and growling in rage.

Once he realized the irrational nature of his behavior, Darth Vader came to a dead halt. Then he saw something that caused his heart to race.

He was staring at a pair of legs that had been partially covered by a brown robe. Could it be . . . ?

Vader tilted his head back slowly, taking in the human in front of him.

Yes, it was him. It was his _son_.

* * *

Luke stared down at the large sable dog in surprise. One did not see too many dogs on Tatooine. With all their fur, it was usually too hot for them to survive for long. A _black_ dog was an even more unusual sight. The Tatooinian suns acted none too kindly toward any living creature covered in that color.

Perhaps just as strange was the fact that the dog had just been chasing its tail. Luke had never known that dogs actually did that.

He contemplated leaving, but the bewildered expression on the canine's face stopped him short. How in the world did a dog look bewildered?

Feeling a tug from the Force, as if he were meant to remain near this dog, Luke squatted down next to it. He placed his hands into the thick fur around its neck, searching for a collar but finding none.

The dog barked uneasily, backing away from him.

"It's all right," Luke said soothingly. "Where's your owner?"

The animal made a strange almost-whimper; then it turned and took off.

Luke was about to let it go, but the Force nudged him.

"All right," he said with a quiet sigh. "I’ll follow."

* * *

Dog.

Dog. Dog. Dog.

No way in the ten Idanian suns was Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, walking around in the body of a _dog_.

But there was no other way to explain the furry paws and the strange noises coming out of his mouth. Or the fact that his son was, for once in his life, actually taller than him.

As he paused and looked up at the young almost-Jedi and realized he could not touch the Force, Darth Vader felt as if he were about to have a nervous breakdown. Assuming he was not already in the middle of one.

His son knelt and placed hands around his neck, pushing through Vader's hair (hair? he had _hair_?). What was he doing? Was he trying to choke Vader? Was he one of those psychotic people who liked to hurt animals for fun? Wait – Darth Vader was _not_ an animal!

Unsure of whether he was confirming or disproving that last bit, Vader barked at his son and started backing away from him.

"It's all right," the boy said, speaking in a voice that was louder than Vader remembered. "Where's your owner?"

_Owner_? No _kriffin’_ way!

Vader made a noise he had not known he was capable of making before literally turning tail and running.

He wove through the legs of streetgoers, which was, considering his normal height of two meters, a new experience for him. Rather than seeing above everyone, he was seeing below everyone. And he did not like it one bit.

Mos Eisley had changed since his last trip, and most of the buildings’ names were different from what he remembered. Finally, however, Vader recognized a place: _The Elegant Nerf_. Though the establishment was somewhat sleazy, it was one of the few places that could even remotely pass for a restaurant on Tatooine. As such, it had at least a few halfhearted standards of cleanliness.

Vader slipped inside the building through the open door, figuring this would be as good of a place to get his bearings as any. Unfortunately, he was a little overzealous in his slipping, and he slipped right into a semi-aquatic humanoid's table, knocking off something wet and slimy on top of his furry forehead.

Vader barked and shook his head violently, trying to dislodge the creature.

Unfortunately, the aquatic patron must have preferred his food live, as the squid-creature latched onto Vader’s head with unbridled tenacity. He growled at it, still trying to fling it off.

Did he have a blasted sign on his head labeled "resting area for live cantankerous organisms"?

* * *

As he panted and squinted in the desert suns, Luke was afraid he was going to lose the canine. But right before he gave up the chase as a lost cause, he saw the dog duck into _The Elegant Nerf_ , and a smile flashed across his face. _Finally._

He absentmindedly fingered his blaster as he took a moment to catch his breath. Although completing his lightsaber was on the agenda, he had not finished it yet, so he would have to rely on a less elegant weapon than he preferred. But completing a lightsaber was not exactly _easy_ , and there was so much to do that—

No. He wiped the thoughts from his mind. He had a more immediate problem to worry about and did not need to be distracted by the turmoil of his emotions once more.

Taking a deep breath, he rushed into the semi-restaurant.

A wave of gasps passed through the patrons, and Luke realized belatedly that he was holding his blaster up in the air. A sheepish expression on his face, he reassured them quickly, "I swear I will not kill anyone."

His eyes darted around the restaurant. "I just want to find, uh, my dog. Have you seen him?" _Please be a him,_ he prayed to himself. It was possible the dog was a girl, but he did not want anyone challenging his authority.

Several hands raised and pointed toward a spot in the corner, where a big black dog was currently wrestling with a squid not even a fourth of its size. The almost-Jedi made a face and then strode forward.

* * *

_Die die die die!_ was what was going through Darth Vader's mind as he snapped at the squishy thing on his head, his doggish instincts taking over.

_What?_! He was no dog! He growled, only to realize that such a primitive mode of expression was not helping to refute the thought. Then he tried to bend down and use his clumsy forepaws to pry the creature off, but as that did not help either, he decided to return to the undignified method of swinging his head back and forth like a deranged beast.

_Get off!!  
_

* * *

As Luke stared at the agitated canine, he wondered how in the galaxy he was supposed to remedy this problem. He would not touch that squid for all the money in his father's private accounts. _  
_

With that thought in mind as he watched the crazed creature, Luke snorted to himself. "You're a regular Bark Vader, aren't you?" The thought made him chortle, but he stopped when the dog turned and gave him a decidedly murderous glare.

Involuntarily taking a step back, Luke looked at the now-busy dog and considered how to help him out of his current situation. Seeing the many eyes of patrons upon him and the dog, he hesitated at using the Force, but he decided that he could make it look like it was the squid's own idea.

Moments later, the squid went flying off the dog's head, landing on the nearby table of an aquatic creature that already had a plateful of such squids. The patron made a grateful noise just as squishy in sound as the squid was in texture, and Luke grinned at the disheveled-looking dog.

“All’s well that ends well, right, Bark Vader?”

As if trying to keep its dignity, the dog held its head up high and walked out of the restaurant, Luke following close behind.

* * *

As soon as they left _The Elegant Nerf_ , Vader turned and growled at his son. He could have handled that situation by himself! He did not need some wannabe Jedi's help.

"Take it easy, boy," the young man said soothingly. Then he frowned. "You _are_ a boy, aren't you?" He moved forward to check.

Remembering with sudden horror a similar incident days before involving himself and a tawny cat, Vader barked and jumped backwards. He now understood the indignity of being subjected to such a thing.

He bared his teeth.

* * *

  
As he stared at the dog, Luke sighed. Why did he insist on staying with this creature? He should return to Obi-Wan's home and work on his lightsaber.

Ignoring the twinge from the Force, Luke stated flatly, "If you're going to be like this, then I'm just going home. I have things to work on – such as my lightsaber, though you wouldn't know anything about that."

He turned to leave but paused in surprise as he heard a whimper issued by the canine.

* * *

Lightsaber? What an opportunity!

Vader forgot his anger and whimpered, turning his eyes up toward his son pleadingly. If he was in the body of a dog, then he might as well use its every aspect accordingly.

He noted with satisfaction the boy’s wavering.

“Well,” his son said, “if you'd like to come with me, I guess you can.”

Vader barked and wagged his tail. Ugh. His _tail_.

* * *

"It will be green when I’m done," Luke explained to the patiently listening dog, feeling a little foolish.

He sighed then, a pained expression on his face. "I wish I didn't need a lightsaber. But I’ll have to use it to get Han out, and I'm probably going to have to see my father again, and I'm sure he just can't _wait_ to slice off another one of my hands."

He stared down at his right hand, flexing it and wiggling the fingers in the air.

* * *

Vader could not help but feel a pang of guilt. _He_ was the reason for his son's pain. _He_ was the reason his son had been thrust into the life of a Jedi without hardly being given a choice.

Vader remembered his own time stuck on Tatooine, wishing for the ability to escape. When Qui-Gon had given him that opportunity, he had jumped at it. But now, if he could go back . . .

As he looked up at his son, he decided firmly that if he were ever given the opportunity to never have left Tatooine to become a Jedi, he would not take it. At least one good thing had come out of leaving the planet: his son.

For the first time in his life, Vader was truly unrestricted by others. First, it had been his life as a slave with Watto, then his servitude to the Jedi, and then his life as Palpatine’s lackey.

Vader closed his eyes for a moment; then he moved close to his son and rested his head upon his knee. For this brief but blissful time, he was not Anakin Skywalker the Jedi or Darth Vader the Sith Lord. He was in a much more unusual but less stressful position. He was Anakin the dog-father . . . .

He snorted at the thought, his shoulders tensing, but he relaxed when he felt a hand reach down and lightly stroke his head. For a moment, he was reminded of his mother, and a tear—he had almost forgotten what they were like—threatened to escape from his eye.

His son spoke, and for a moment, Vader’s canine heart stopped.

"You're a great companion, but I wish my father were here. Not as Vader, but as Anakin Skywalker." The boy's voice became tight, and as Vader brought his canine head up to look at his son, he saw tears shining in the young Jedi's eyes.

"I wish my father were here,” Luke said, “so I could say to him, 'Happy Father's Day, Dad.'" He closed his eyes, and two tears squeezed out.

_Oh, son, if you only knew._

As Vader stared up at his son, he was glad he had been given this time to see his son in such an unguarded state. For the first time in a long time, Vader truly felt joy.

A feeling of haziness began to spread through his mind. Startled, he removed his furry head from the top of his son's knee and backed up, his vision blurring.

A sudden weight came upon him, and he realized it was the weight of machinery. Darth Vader, human and Dark Lord of the Sith, was back.

* * *

Luke hastily wiped away his tears, only to frown as he realized the dog was gone.

But the Force did not pull at him anymore, so he decided to let it go. He did not know why it had happened in the first place, but the encounter had brought him some small measure of comfort.

He stared sadly down at the tools in front of him. _Oh, Father . . . I'll turn you back somehow. I promise._


End file.
